BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has threatened to wage ‘bigger protests’ to pile pressure on the government to free Khaleda Zia from jail.

The warning came from a human chain organised by BNP leaders in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Wednesday.

“Let’s unite to uphold the spirits of freedom. Inshallah, we will be able to defeat this monstrous government by creating greater agitation in the days to come,” Fakhrul said.

He urged the BNP leaders and activists, and other parties to join the protests to bring back the people’s rights and protect their interests.

Reiterating the party’s demand for the release of Khaleda from jail, he said, “The country’s leader is seriously sick. She needs immediate, proper treatment.”

Other senior leaders Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Modud Ahmed, Mirza Abbas and Zainul Abedin were among those who joined the human chain.

Khaleda has been in prison since February 2018 serving 17 years in two corruption cases. The former prime minister was transferred to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on Apr 1 for treatment from the old jailhouse on Nazim Uddin Road.

Followers holding banners and placards chanted slogans for the release of the party chief. Law enforcers were deployed to the protest site.

Earlier, the party formed a human chain on Mar 6 for the same demand. The party is expected to form another human chain on Thursday for the same demand.